


Apology(On threat of disintegration)

by GleeDork1734



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: M/M, Oneshot, References to mental health in the wizarding world, nevilledraco, pre slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2017-05-31
Packaged: 2018-11-07 02:20:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11049288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GleeDork1734/pseuds/GleeDork1734
Summary: Draco unknowingly insults Neville's parents. Then he feels bad.





	Apology(On threat of disintegration)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Couple things: 1) So I got slapped in the face with an idea one day, and I just had to write it. It's kinda Neville realising "hey Draco's less of a jerk than originally thought, kewl" not really any relationship, but it's implied sorta?? I'm not great at this sorry  
> 2) I've never written any hp characters before, so they maybe OOC  
> 3) this takes place sometime after Neville fights crabbe and goyle at the quidditch match that's why he's not as flustered as he is in his early years in the books and movies
> 
>  
> 
> Hope you like, sorry for this long authors note

Neville and Luna walked out of Potions. Luna wore her usual dreamy expression, while Neville vented about potions.  
“Why does Snape have to be such a git? I mean, I know I’m not the best at potions, but still…” Neville walked with Luna out of the potions classroom. They turned the corner and Neville trailed off. ‘Of course I’d run into Malfoy now’, Neville thought.

“Well, if it isn’t Longbottom and Loony Lovegood, off to snog are you? Figures the only girl who’d want you isn’t right in the head, Longbottom,” Draco sneered, while his cronies snickered behind him.

Neville fingered the bubblegum wrapper in his pocket. He’d visited his parents the previous weekend and made the questionable decision to keep it with him, instead of sending home with the rest. Now, it only served as a painful reminder when he needed it the least; though Malfoy’s barbs didn’t help.

“Shut up Malfoy,” Neville replied, his effort to mask his pain failing miserably.

“Aww, gonna go cry to Mummy now, are you? Go run off and tell her mean old Malfoy insulted you, eh?” Draco taunted, a cruel gleam in his eyes.

Neville barely stopped the flinch, but he couldn’t hide the wounded look in his eyes. For a second something- surprise?- flitted across Malfoy’s face, but it was gone fast enough that he assumed it was nothing. 

Neville breathed in deeply, squared his shoulders, then grabbed Luna’s hand. “Let’s go Luna, we need to get to Transfiguration.”

As they walked away, he could hear the Slytherins sniggering behind him.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
“Nice one Draco,” Pansy simpered, practically on top of him, “He looked about to cry.”

“Especially with that stab at his parents you threw in there. That must hit him real hard,” Blaise added.

“What do his parents have to do with anything?” Draco asked, turning to Pansy with a confused look.

“You don’t know?” Draco glared at her, “Okay, okay. Merlin. During the war, his parents were aurors. The Dark Lord wasn’t pleased with them because they had been causing minor problems. He sent the Lestranges after them. Tortured them to insanity. I hear he even sometimes visits them. Ugh. I wouldn’t be seen near them if they were my parents. Disgusting.”

Draco paled, though in the dungeon light it was hardly noticeable.  
“I’m going to bed now, if you don’t mind,” Draco’s voice betrayed none of the emotions he could feel swirling around inside him. He knew how most of the pure blooded families felt about mental illness. It was on the same level as mudbloods. While he would always feel contempt for blood traitors and mudbloods, the mentally ill couldn’t exactly help it. Blood traitors chose to ally themselves with filth, and mudbloods were the filth. But one couldn’t help being sick. He made his decision then, and he knew he needed to stick to it.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Neville sat in history of magic, chewing on his quill. He’d given up on note-taking, he couldn’t focus. Hadn’t been able to for a day now. Ever since that stupid confrontation with Malfoy. It was dumb. He knew he should move on and forget about it. Malfoy was a stupid git who was just trying to get a rise out of him. But what made it worse was that he had succeeded. Neville couldn’t stop thinking of his parents, of- no. Thinking would lead to crying and he was in the middle of class, even if no one else was awake.  
Soon enough, the bell rang, and slowly students woke up, and gathered their things. Neville was lethargic in his movements, enough that he was alone in the classroom, so full of thoughts his brain was. He adjusted his handful of books, and headed to the Great Hall. The hallway was empty, his footsteps echoing on the stone floor. Neville paused, to gather his thoughts, when a hand shot out of an empty classroom, and covered his mouth while pulling him in. Neville looked up and was shocked(and more than a little bit terrified) to see the cold face of Draco Malfoy staring at him.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Draco Malfoy looked into the terrified face of Neville Longbottom, and for one second regretted all of his life decisions. ‘No, pull yourself together. Malfoys don’t hesitate’ Before he could get any words out, Longbottom spoke first.

“What do you want Malfoy?” He asked, his voice betraying his fear.  
Draco swallowed the snarky remark that surfaced. He was here on a mission, and he was going to complete that mission. 

“I am here, Longbottom to...apologize,” he ground out, the word tasting unfamiliar in his mouth.

Longbottom’s mouth fell open into an ‘O’ shape, and Draco took that as a sign to continue.

“During a...confrontation yesterday, I insulted your parents. At the time, I was...unaware of their current situation. I have...come to realise that was inappropriate. I...regret the remarks.”

Longbottom’s mouth looked as though it was going to go through the floor if it dropped any longer. Draco was frankly worried insects would fly into it.

“Of course, if you inform anyone of this conversation, I will have to curse you with a reducto so powerful your great grandchildren will feel it.”  
With those parting words, Draco turned and walked out of the room. Neville stared after him, head tilted, eyes wide, but mouth finally closed. He rubbed the gum wrapper in his pocket. Perhaps there really was a human being underneath all those layers of awful...


End file.
